SOULSPIN ALC

I've just received my custom ALC blade from SOULSPIN.



I do really like this company and their innovative approach. I strongly recommend to check out their page: http://www.soulspin.tt/en/home.html

The construction of my new blade is similar to the Butterfly ALC blades of TBS type, but when just bouncing the ball on the blade, the pitch of my SOULSPIN blade is a bit lower, and it overall feels a bit softer and also a tiny bit slower. I'm really happy with the appearance, craftsmanship and the feeling of the handle. I'm also really happy with the communication with SOULSPIN and all the possibilities that this awesome company offers.

Curious to find out how the blade plays at the table!

Beauty! Please let us know if it Plays as nice as it Looks like   

slevin wrote: But I'm curious about the motivation for this purchase - BTY makes decent ALC blades at a lower cost!

Indeed, BTY makes (more than) decent ALC and (S)ZLC blades. However, I wanted to have something special and I really do like the idea behind soulspin - independently on whether I'll actually end up playing with the blade or not, the whole process (selecting handles etc.) was more than worth the money. And as a matter of fact, the most recent BTY ALC blades (e.g. ZJK ALC), not to mention the (S)ZLC blades, are more expensive than my custom SOULSPIN blade...

Baal wrote: Wow, I have been hoping they would make one of those for awhile, their blades are so good.  Is the ALC model now on their website?

No, I've asked them to build this particular ALC blade for me because I really wanted to have a blade from SOULSPIN but preferred ALC/ZLC over Basalt. Given their knowledge and experience, they'll be able to build pretty much any blade one wants I would guess. However, my understanding is that they will not "copy" other brands as part of their roots series.

If they could make an ALC JRE, that would be my dream blade.

Really cool :)

p1ngp0ng3r wrote: Really cool :) How long did you have to wait to receive it after your purchase?

In my case it took quite some time from the moment I decided to actually get one to the moment it arrived at my place, due to a couple of reasons, mainly on my side (holidays, wanted to have test box first (amazing possibility), Christmas & new years break, ...).

If one order one of their roots blade, I think it takes them less than a week to build the blade. If one orders something where they first need to get the respective materials (ALC/ZLC,...), it depends on how quickly they are able to get the material (say plus approx. 2 weeks).

Baal wrote: Have you played with it yet?  How is it?

No, unfortunately I haven't played with it yet.

However, I've certainly spent at least 10 minutes bouncing the ball on the bare blade and comparing it with my Viscarias, TBSs and TB ALC

On top of that, I've spent at least another 10 minutes bouncing the ball on the balde with MX-P rubbers on, and doing serves on our dining table

Obviously I can't conclude too much from this, but what I can conclude is the following:

- The blade is softer than any BTY ALC blade that I have
- It is slower at low impact speed
- It feels a bit bouncier
- The contact is deeper, i.e. I have the impression that the 'vibrations' come from a deeper layer rather than from the blade surface
- There is more bite when serving

I hope to play with it on the weekend - at latest I'll test it in my regular Monday training.

folks ought to give Basalt a try - there's got to be a reason why Soulspin went with that as the composite fiber in their blades. Their Basalt blades feel great.

Baal wrote: I thought the Basalt was a great blade too.  I prefer just a touch faster.